Steve’s Blog

I must admit I am a sucker for good motivational speeches in movies, especially when the odds are against the good guys. 

I loved the speech in Independence Day when they go to fight the aliens: “‘Mankind.’ That word should have new meaning for all of us today. We can’t be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests. Perhaps it’s fate that today is the Fourth of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom… Not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution… but from annihilation. We are fighting for our right to live. To exist. And should we win the day, the Fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day the world declared in one voice: “We will not go quietly into the night!” We will not vanish without a fight! We’re going to live on! We’re going to survive! Today we celebrate our Independence Day!

How about the speech in Lord of the Rings, Return of the King, when it looks like the age of the humans had come to an end and Aragorn says: “My brothers! I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me! A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship. But it is not this day….when the age of Men comes crashing down! But it is not this day! This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you stand! Men of the West!”

You can’t forget William Wallace in Braveheart saying, “Aye, fight and you may die, run, and you’ll live… at least a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willin’ to trade ALL the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they’ll never take… OUR FREEDOM!”

I am not sure how I missed it before, but tonight I watched the  Star Trek Generations Movie for the first time.  For those who haven’t seen it, a time anomaly puts Captain James T. Kirk and Captain Jon Luc Piccard (80 years apart) in the same time frame.  At one point Kirk tells Piccard, “Don’t retire, don’t let them transfer you or promote you.  When you’re in the captain’s chair you can make a difference.  I haven’t made a difference since I retired.”

Later, after they save the day and kirk lays dying, he asks Piccard, “Did we make a difference?”  Piccard says, “Yes, we made a difference.”

What a question for you and me to consider.  Today. Tomorrow. When we lay dying.  “Did we make a difference?”  Is any one’s life better because I was here.  Did I change anything for the better?  How much of what I have done has eternal value?

We should also ask that question concerning our churches.  Do they make a real difference?  For all our worship and teaching and events, are we really changing anyone?  Are people getting saved?  Are disciples being made?  Are ministries being raised up?

Sometimes I look around and wonder if the things we are expected to do really make an eternal difference. As the old saying goes, “give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach him to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”  What happens if he spends his whole life fishing and ends up in hell?  Did we make a real difference?

Is that too cynical?  Or does it beg us to answer the question of what eternal purpose our activities, events, worship and sermons are.  Are we teaching people to be happy and comfortable, or are we teaching people to take risks and make sacrifices for the King of Kings?

In a tongue in cheek essay, Wilbur Reese penned these words that, unfortunately, capture the unspoken sentiment of many that call themselves Christians: “I would like to buy three dollars worth of God, please. Not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough of Him to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine. I don’t want enough of Him to make me love a black man or pick beets with a migrant. I want ecstasy, not transformation. I want the warmth of the womb, not a new birth. I want a pound of the eternal in a paper sack, please. I would like to buy three dollars worth of God, please.”  

My great fear is that too may churches and ministries are providing the warm milk and hammocks.  How many are opting for the excitement of the event rather than a true life-changing encounter with God.  How many times has the cup of warm milk been in my own hand?

I suppose you can tell I am reflecting.  Lately I’ve looked around at spiritual needs that are not being meet by having another meeting. I see the people who don’t need another service, they need the investment of love and time of Christians.  The need someone to take them under their wing and disciple them.  In some cases they need a place to live where they are constantly encouraged in their Christian life until they take spiritual root and start to grow themselves.

 In fact, I wonder if having another meeting doesn’t sometimes hinder Christians from going out and doing something for God? We don’t have time to SERVE, because we are always running to SERVICES!  We invite people to discipleship classes instead of disciplining them.  We hand them a book on prayer rather then praying with them.  Hmmmmmmm!

At one time I worked for the McCook Daily Gazette in McCook, Neb.  Harry Strunk was the spunky Publisher back in the 50’s and 60s.  His famous saying was, “Service is the rent we pay for the space we occupy in the world.” 

Are we serving or going to services?

“Did we make a difference?”

Tags: Add new tag, service

Today I recieved a Talk To a Pastor request from an agnostic.  He was polite and seemed genuinely interested in resolving the conflict he sees between a loving God and an eternal hell.  This question is on the minds of more people then you might imagine; even those who would tend to believe in a Christian concept of God.  His other question was about why demons would bother trying to inhabit people.

The Bible says, “be ready to give an answer to every man that asks for the reason of hope that is within you.”

I share the following post with the idea that many Christians do not have a ready, nor adequate answer for these types of questions.  Because they do not they tend to APPEAR to validate the argument from the person asking the questions.  Athiests and agnostics love to confuse and make make Christians stumble around, proving their point that we can not back up our ideas.  However we have the truth and we should be able to share that truth with others when called upon to do so.

So, I want to provide the questions and my answers to readers of this blog so you might be better prepared to “give an answer to anyone who asks you.”  It isn’t too long, but wil require a few minutes.  I trust you will consider the the investment of your time as worth the training you will receive.  Please contact me with questions or comments about this exchange.

For both the letter and the answer please follow this link www.talktoapastor.com/letter8.htm.

(On another note I also have an answer to an atack by an athiest. www.talktoapastor.com/letter7.htm)

Be blessed as you seek the Lord for ways to impact the secualr world around us.

Steve

Tags: Add new tag, agnostic, demons and exorcism, Hell and a loving God, talk to a Pastor

I just returned from taking part in a memorial service for a man who had been a pastor in my town for over 13 years.  He moved a few months ago and we received word a couple of weeks ago that he had committed suicide.

I do not presume to judge the man, his relationship with God, or his eternal destination.  It is above my pay grade - actually everything is since I do not get paid for any ministry work - but that is beside the point.

I do presume to judge a religious system (modern church in 21st century America)  that is destroying men and women of God. A system, that statistics tell us, chews up and spits out 1200-1500 ministers per month.  Eighty percent of those leaving the ministry say that the ministry was harmful for their families.  Over 30% ended up in moral failure.  Most never return to the ministry.  Some never go back to church.  What is wrong with this picture?

We can blame the ministers themselves - it would be easy to do. However I believe the real culprit is a the false system of church we have created and maintain with a furry.  A system that expects more of a person than is reasonable.  A system that has never been scriptural, nor in the mind of God. 

If you care to read some older blog articles I have defined many of the problems with the system.  You will understand better what I am referring to by reading back some. 

I am not even sure where I am going with this article or if anyone will read it, I just feel I have to write it, to get it off my chest - perhaps as closure for the brother who died.  Perhaps because it so unfortunetly and vividly illustrates the things I see wrong in the Church today.  I just know that the more I look at “church as usual” the more convinced I am that it is the very structure of modern church that hinders the Kindgom of God.  The suicide of a pastor is an exclamation point in the commentary.

Those of you who know me know I am not “anti-Church.”  I serve on the pastoral team of a church we started lasted year.  I love the Church (big C).  I love the Body of Christ and gathering together.  I love teaching, sharing and hearing others in the Body share things on their heart that God is showing them and things He is doing in their lives.  I love it when the Body of Christ is free to express Christ in the midst of the congregation. A major emphasis of my ministry is to encourage and train leaders for the Church.  However I sometimes wonder if I am doing them a favor.

I do love the Church, however, I can’t stand the traditions that define church experience for so many people.  I can’t stand the structures that hinder the growth of the Body of Christ.  The clergy/laity mindsets that hold back good people from serving the Lord. The false emphasis that focus more on the needs of the organization than the needs of the people.  The religious politics, the jockeying for position and the behind-the-scenes string pulling for control of the church.  These things, which ought not be, are normal fare for many churches and the bane of many pastors.  I’ve experienceed some of these thiings myself.  I also thank God (and the local Body) for those churches I served that did not have these problems.

The bottom line is that “church as usual” isn’t working.  And it isn’t because God’s Church doesn’t work - it is because we are no longer doing Church God’s way.  We’ve substituted man-made stuff.  We have reaped man-made results. I am reminded just now of the tower of Babel.  The Bible tells us they “had brick for stone and slime for mortar.”  Brick is a man-made substitute for God-created stone.  Slime is - well slime.  They were going to “build a tower whose top reached to heaven and make a name for themselves.”  How much this sounds like our denominational systems today.  In another passage God cried out against His choosen saying, “They have forsaken Me the fountain of living waters and have hewn out for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water.”

Pastors today are left with an impossible task of leading those that don’t want to follow.  To follow those that don’t know where they are going and to make sure everone is happy about the whole thing.  Is it any wonder so many are worn out and burned out?  Something has to change.  We must do two things.  1.  We must be willing to step out and provide an alternative; 2. We must speak out and reveal the fallacy of expecting different results while maintinaing the same structure.

God will have a Church that displays the glory and power of Jesus Christ on earth before He comes back to wrap this thing up.  That has never been the question.  The only questions is, who will be a part of it?

I pray for my fellow pastors and ministers.  May we have the courage, strength and grace to lead in  paths of reformation in these last days regardless of the cost.  Jesus is worth it.

Tags: Pastor's Suicide

Tags: Avatar, Movies

Audio message: Dealing with the Past, The Present and the Future
by Steve Highlander
(3rd message down in the archive.)

There are times in every person’s life where they seem to get bogged down or, in other terms, stuck!  They are still doing all the stuff: going to church, reading their Bible, praying, serving; often with more fever than before.  Meanwhile, well intentioned people tell them, (depending on their particular brand of church), you need to pray more; worship more; read more; serve more; forgive more!  DO SOMETHING MORE THAN YOU ARE DOING NOW!  This is the church’s solution to just about everything: DO MORE!  Usually it has nothing to do with doing more.  Most often there is another reason for the “stuckedness,” especially when you’ve been an active Christian

Every Christian must learn how to successfully deal with the past, the present and the future if they want to maintain a steadily increasing Christian journey.  Failure to  deal with these three areas, in a Biblical manner, will bring your spiritual life to a grinding halt.  Dealing with them successfully on the other hand often propels you to the next level of spiritual growth.

Paul gave us his personal strategy for spiritual growth in Philippians 3:10-16.  He says, “this ONE thing I do….”  But then he goes on to mention three things.  I believe Paul was telling us he treated these three matters as a single issue, because failing to deal with one area would hinder spiritual growth.  The ONE issue was dealing with the past, the present and the future.

The gist of the message is in verses 13 and 14

“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, [past] and reaching forth unto those things which are before, [future] I press toward the mark [present] for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

In a nut shell Paul said, I do not let the past chain me down so I can not go forward.  I have a vision for my future that is propelling me forward with purpose and direction and every day I press towards the purpose of God in my life regardless of distractions, temptations or problems.

At the end of his life Paul was able to say, “I have run the race, I have finished my course, I am ready to sacrifice my life for God as the final act of love.”  This is a guy that I want to listen to.

Rather than repeat all of the message here I have an (free) audio version online and would recommend you take time to listen to it.  This practical message will give you some ideas and tools for the challenge of dealing with your past, present and future.

May 2010 be your best year yet in the Kingdom of God.  I pray with the apostle John,

“May you prosper and be in health even as your soul prospers.”

Steve and Brooke

For over a year now I have been preaching, not only the need for a second reformation of the church, but the reality of it happening all across America.  During the discussions with various people in various venues the question usually arises, “Just what do you think needs to be reformed?”  The next few blog articles will discuss some things in the modern church that need a serious make over.

The concept of reformation is to take what exists and remold it - much like you would take modeling clay and change its shape - but not its substance. It remains clay regardless of the shape you mold it into.  We will never change the spiritual nature of the church or the truth of the gospel message.  The spiritual reality of the true Church does not change and does not need to change.  Indeed it will never change. However the structure; the form; the outward appearance of how we DO church has changed dramatically over the last 2000 years. Those changes - some good and some bad - impacted the eternal message and the effectiveness of the church to fulfill its purpose in God’s plan. For an interesting look at how we try to control the Holy Spirit in our services today see my E-Book The Domestication of the Spirit.

The goal of reformation is not to change the essential essence of the Church, but the man-made additions that have slowly come  to the point of being on the same level as Biblical instruction.  (For a more detailed look at the the need for a second reformation see my E-Book The Second Reformation. Today many things happen in church that are simply not Biblical, nor spiritual.  Decades (and in some cases centuries) of tradition have brought the church to the place of idolatry where good people have substituted some cherished tradition for spiritual reality.  While tradition has its place in church, Jesus told the Jews in no uncertain terms, “You have made the Word of God of no effect by your tradition.” It is this dilemma that I believe with all my heart is the fulcrum of the second reformation now taking place in lives all across America.

True reformation involves people.  The Bible always defines the church as the people, not a building, organization, denomination or other entity.  To reform the Church is to reform the people as they gather together.  As people’s hearts are changed the way they come together to experience church will also change.

With these foundational thoughts in mind I would like to list a few things that need to be reformed in the modern American church.  I will briefly mention some issues here and expound on them one by one in coming blog articles.

The general concept that reduces church to a religious organization to which we belong
Unfortunately for many church goers church is not much more that a religious social club, like the Optimists, Lions, Rotary or host of others.  Look at the similarities:  The meet weekly for “fellowship” and organizational business. Most offer a prayer over the meal. Some, like rotary sing a few songs.  There are announcements, committees and the ever present “Sargent at arms” (Deacon/usher/etc.)  They pay dues (tithes and offerings) and there is generally some type of informational or motivational message.  And it is usually done in an hour. (Church gets out at 12 right?  Isn’t that in the Bible somewhere?)

Even given the fact that in most churches the Bible is preached and prayer offered, the whole concept is not about actually doing much more than “being a good member of the club.”

Christianity has become a “spectator sport.”
A critical area of reformation has to be the concept that people “go to church” as spectators.  In too many places the service becomes a presentation complete with lights, music, entertainment and motivational messages.  The “chosen few” (pastor worship leader, praise band, etc) do all the stuff and the most that is expected from the members is to be faithful to show up, support the programs and bring their offering.  Church was never meant to be something we attended as a spectator, but as a participant.  Congregational participation must return to the church - no matter what external form the services take, be it a traditional setting or a house church.

Church government needs to be reformed
The concept of the pastor as head of the church and CEO of the organization is not Biblical.  In fact, a single pastor church structure is not found anywhere in the Bible.  It came from the early Roman Catholic tradition.  Everywhere the Bible speaks of church leadership it speaks in a plural form: Elders, deacons, etc.  In fact the word “pastor” is only used twice in the New Testament and always as a descriptive term, never as a position - and certainly not the “head of the church.”  The Bible only ever speaks of Jesus as the “head of the church.”  The church needs to return to a plurality of servant leadership as opposed to the professional CEO/pastor /celebrity concept we have today.

The Evangelical message has drifted off course
Two very serious problems are occurring with the evangelical message today. The first is what might be termed an “easy believism.”  The Gospel message has been reduced to a tract and a prayer, or a “walk to the altar” in some churches.  The message is reduced to simply having one’s sins forgiven and obtaining a ticket to heaven.  Little is said about God’s eternal purposes, Lordship, holiness and personal service to the Master.  Jesus is presented as the “fix-it guy”.  He’ll fix your sin problem, He’ll fix your money problems and your marriage problems, etc.  And, when something is not “fixed” forthright, the “converts” to easy believism, having no depth of root, whither and die according to Jesus’ parable of the seed and the sower.

The second crucial problem is the “gospel of comfort.”  We have created an Americanized form of the gospel, which really isn’t the gospel at all.  Because of the unparalleled prosperity of America and the “entitlement” attitude of the last couple of generations, Americans have become obsessed with instant gratification and comfort.  It is no surprise that the message is tailored to meet that mindset.  However, our carnal comfort - physical or even emotional - was never God’s ultimate purpose.  The early Christians (and many of those who are really living for Christ today) struggled intensely to live for Jesus, swimming upstream in a world opposed to God.  God still calls his people to be counter-cultural and to sacrificial living.  That does not preach well in comfy churches.  A friend once said, “John 3:16 is the scariest verse in the Bible.  If God did not hesitate to spare His own Son to reach the world, what makes me think He would willing to spare me?”

Heresy - Dividing the Body of Christ with schisms and individuality
The word “heretic” in the Bible is actually means ”Schismatic” or one who causes schisms or divisions.”  We’ve come look at heresy as some unbiblical doctrine.  However good doctrine, used to the point of dividing the organic unity of the Body of Christ is also heresy; not the doctrine, but the attitude. I can’t tell you the number of people who are more interested in WHAT you believe, than they are in WHO you believe in.  Doctrine is important, but not to the exclusion of true believers.  Then there are the people who love your church until you say ONE thing they don’t agree with, then they become schismatics, claiming some Biblical ground for seperating themselves.  Doctrinal agreement is NOT the basis of Christian fellowship - Jesus Christ as Lord and the Spirit of God as the indweller is.  Along these lines, the need of control causes more and more Christians to seperate into smaller and smaller groups so they can have everything just the way they want. 

While the Protestant reformation was born of God and a necessary thing in the history of the Church, the one thing it did was allow for hundreds of denominational schisms to inflict the Body of Christ with heretical divisions.  This individualism must be dealt with, for there really is only “one Lord, One faith, one baptism.”  Paul states palinly in Ephesians 4 that Church will exist until we “all come to the unity of the faith” and unto the perfect expression of Jesus Christ in the corporate Body.

 While there are more issues we can put done.  These key issues will carry us forward for a few articles.

May you wrestle with God over these issues as Jacob wrestled with God and walked away changed: limping, but blessed, with a new name and a new destiny in God’s kingdom purposes.

Steve

(Author’s note: This article is the first of several articles dealing with a Biblical response to what is happening in our world.)

I sit at the computer with a complex mix of emotions and thoughts.  Somewhere in the middle of the religious, social and political maelstrom that exists today is a Biblically balanced view of what is actually happening in the world today and how to prepare for it as Christians.  I offer neither a “head-in-the-sand” approach or sensationalism and hype. I hope to offer a Biblical perspective and suggest an appropriate response.

It is obvious that our world has turned a corner.  It appears that even our own country has started down a path that will change things from here on out.  I believe we are approaching the last days at a rapid pace.  There is cause for concern all around us.  In the mid ’80s God spoke to my heart and said, “I have called you to warn them and prepare them.”  The obvious question is: “warn them and prepare them for WHAT?”  I believe that answer to be: THE LAST DAYS. 

It is extremely important to know what we are preparing for.  Preparing for the wrong thing means we are unprepared for what will actually happen.  Preparing for the right thing in the wrong way is equally disastrous.

Likewise it is important HOW we warn people and HOW we prepare them.  Fear, anger and self-righteous indignation will truly motivate some people, but does it get the job done in the long run?  Does it prepare us correctly for the right thing?  And above all, does it genuinely reflect God’s plan and nature?

 I worked in the secular media for over 20 years.  HYPE sells!  Controversy increases print sales and viewership.  And in the religious arena sensationalism in the pulpit (wooden, print, electronic or otherwise) still generates dollars for the offering plate.  In fact, people  with strong views, religious or political (God help us when they collide), are the easiest to get stirred up.  Just draw a cartoon making fun of Mohamed and see what the Muslims have to say about it.  The secular media pundits know that in the grab for market share they MUST stir stuff up.  A mundane news night means fewer advertising dollars.  After all, they do what they do for a living.

While I do not argue that there are some significant and even scary things blowing in the political, social and religious winds, I am greatly troubled by the tremendous amount of hatred, fear and plain old hype coming out of some corners; especially those people who claim to speak for God.  Fear, hatred and speculation are NEVER God’s methods.  I reject those things wholesale as being beneath the mandate of the Church which  to love our enemies and preach the gospel of the Kingdom. 

The world is not being drawn to Christ because of the political agenda of some, but rather it is being ridiculed, mocked and ignored.  Why?  Because it has not presented the NATURE Christ.  It has tried to present the LAW without the SPIRT.  Jesus and Paul both said the law without the spirit is DEATH.  Jesus said, “The words I speak unto you are spirit and life.” 

Keeping the ten commandments has never saved, nor ever will save a single person.  So telling people to live by them seems a bit ridiculous unless it is presented in the context of saving grace.  Politics is not about salvation, it is about social control.  The key to maintaining a Christian nation is evangelism and discipleship, not politics.  If a person is converted and doesn’t want to have an abortion or live with a gay lover it is more effective than creating a law saying they can’t.  History proves people ignore laws in favor of their own personal choices.  (E.G. drugs, prostitution, etc.)

The Church’s response to world conditions need to be biblical, spiritual and honest, without emotional sensationalism.  God has not given us a spirit of fear (timidity; cowardliness), but of of power (GR: miracle working power), love (GR: Agape; self-sacrificing) and of a sound mind (GR: self controlled).  In other words the Christian, walking in God’s Spirit, is not motivated by fear, driven by hatred or given over to despair and hopelessness.  Instead they present a peaceful assurance in the God they serve as Did Jesus before the Roman authorities at His trial, the apostles in front of the Sanhedrin and countless others before courts, popes and tyrants throughout the ages.

The Bible is plain.  Some awesome and terrible things will happen in the last days, but that was only part of the story and not the most significant.  The other part is the triumph of God over evil and finally death. The days ahead of us are a catalyst to move people to or from God.  The Church has one of the greatest opportunities to win souls just before us.  Let’s make sure we are preaching the right message.  Remember, Jesus said, “my kingdom is NOT of this world.”

It is an understatement to say that for millions of Christians the modern American version of Christianity is a gospel of personal comfort, if not prosperity.  Capitalism and politics have slowly been integrated into the evangelical gospel message to the point we can’t separate them anymore.  In light of the “God loves me and wants me to be happy” gospel, the question begs to be asked: “What about the concept of living sacrificial lives for the sake of the Kingdom of God?”  The reality is God loves you and wants you to be holy.”  Your happiness is of secondary concern to God.

At least a few people just clicked off to another web site because I slew their sacred cow of personal comfort and convenience.  If you’ve read this far I commend you. I encourage you to read on.

Earlier this year God instructed me to become involved with Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) a Christian organization dedicated to helping persecuted Christians around the world by informing Christians and getting them involved and by providing direct support: emotionally, physically and spiritually to Christians who have been wounded, had family members murdered or lost homes and property to severe persecution.  I highly recommend you check out this ministry for your own sake, as well as participating in the suffering of Christ around the world.  They have several free resources you can request. http://www.persecution.com/,  More on VOM in a future blog.

Honestly, participating in VOM has shaken me somewhat.  I am forced to remember that as Americans we have many freedoms and privileges afforded us through our constitution (for which I am thankkful).  For most of us, the idea of suffering involves the temporary loss of some comfort or convenience.  When I read of the accounts of Christians in Viet Nam or Iran or Pakistan (the Bible is illegal in 57 countries)  being murdered or maimed and their property stolen and houses burned (without any legal protection) it makes me wonder if the American version of Church and the gospel would make much of an impact over there.

We might tritely claim that if we were there it wouldn’t happen to us because of our faith.  Do we really think these people have no faith?  If that is so how come Christian evangelists continue going into areas where they are repeatedly beaten and persecuted.  How come widows continue to believe in God after having watched their husbands hacked to death and perhaps a child maimed.  A young evangelist in Pakistan was recently asked how many times he went into a certain Muslim area to witness.  He counted on his fingers and answered.  Then he was asked how many times he had been persecuted and suffered beatings there.  Once again he counted on his fingers, then said with a smile, “only 1/2 as many times I as I have gone.”

To much of the Christian world the Americanized version of the gospel just wouldn’t make sense nor ring true.  If you get a bunch of preachers together in America, you will ultimately be asked, “well, how many people are there in your church?”  This is the litmus test of success comparison.  Our validity as ministers often hinge on the size of our church. You can tell because those with smaller churches will say something like, “Well we have 120 on the membership roles.”  (Meaning about 40 show up every week.)  However in China when leaders get together they ultimately ask, “how many times have you been in prison for preaching the gospel?”  There is a a bit of a different viewpoint on what successful ministries all all about.

The bottom line is this: The gospel of comfort is not the gospel of the Bible.  I am concerned for American Christians because I see the tide turning economically and spiritually.  I am not at all sure the American church is ready to survive, let alone thrive in days ahead.  Yet it was just this environment that was the seedbed of early Chrsitianity.  They turned the world upside down in the midst of a pagan culture with a government that was hostile to them. 

Too many people have made comfort their god and convenience their message.  It is time the Church of Jesus Christ returned to a Biblical message of living for the kingdom, making personal sacrifices (beyond a bit of inconvenience) and commit to walk with God come what may.  Jesus said, “If you suffer with me, you will also reign with me.”

As a pastor and counselor I have seen way too many people get mad at God and turn away because they didn’t get something they wanted.  They are the “seeds sown on stony ground” Christians (Matthew 13).  Christians that are shallow and have no depth; no root.  Their Christianity is self-centered and self-serving.  Jesus said of these Christians, “for when tribulation (difficulties) or persecution arises for the Word’s sake, they wither and die.”  If it isn’t comfortable they are not interested.  If it doesn’t somehow enrich their overall life they are not interested.  If it is not convenient they are not interested.  If the costs outweigh the personal benefits they are not interested.

I am wholeheartedly committed to the concept of spiritual reformation in the Church. One thing that must be reformed is the message being preached.  It is not one of  doom and gloom, it is one of standing strong for the sake of the Kingdom, serving God and reaching a lost generation with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ, no matter what the personal cost might be.

I realize this is not a cheery, feel good message, but it is a necessary one. 

II Timothy 2:9-13

“I’m suffering disgrace for spreading this Good News. I have even been put into prison like a criminal. However, God’s word is not imprisoned. For that reason, I endure everything for the sake of those who have been chosen so that they, too, may receive salvation from Christ Jesus with glory that lasts forever. This is a statement that can be trusted: If we have died with him, we will live with him. If we endure, we will rule with him. If we disown him, he will disown us. If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful because he cannot be untrue to himself.”

Paul’s great faith didn’t provide a cushion against inconvenience or discomfort.  More often than not it caused his problems, but it also allowed God to work mightly through him to reach others and comfort him when no earthly thing could.

I commend you to the grace of God.  AMEN!

With you in His service … Steve

Tags: Christian suffering, persecution, Voice of the Martyrs

The Disciples came to Jesus on occasion and said, “Lord, increase our faith.”  (One notable time was when He was talking about forgiving others 70 times 7.)  What is real faith and how can it be increased?  I believe the first step is to define Biblical faith.

In the past 40 years the subject of FAITH has permeated large segments of Christianity.   Going back even further, faith is at the heart of every Christian church. Today we have “faith” churches; “faith” teachers, “faith” ministries and even “The Faith Message.”  We refer to our doctrinal system as “faith,” i.e. “What faith are you?”  Meaning, are you Catholic, Baptist, Lutheren or Pentecostal?  We encourage people to “keep the faith.” However, for all of this I find that many Christians really do not have a Biblical grasp of faith. 

Too often, in its modern form, faith has been reduced to “believing God for something.”  More often than not it is something material.  Too many times it is about pleasure and comfort and prosperity.  It is strange that I have never heard one ”faith teacher” talk about believing God for 100 souls to be saved.  Perhaps they do, but I can not remember one modern faith message that talks about using faith to believe God for spiritual things.

What is the nature of Faith?  Is it simply believing God for something?  Some would have us believe that you can “name it and claim it,” to use an old worn out cliche.  But is faith much more significant that telling God what we want and then believing He will come through for us?  I think it is.

Genuine Biblical faith starts in Romans 4:3, “Abraham BELIEVED God and it was counted to him for righteousness.”  You should read all of Romans 4 to get the entire impact, but I will only mention two important thoughts here.

The first key thought that defines faith is found in the statement,”Abraham BELIEVED God.”  It did not say Abraham believed IN God.  Here is the tricky point for many people.  They believe that faith is basically believing IN God.  You might ask someone if they have faith and they would respond, “I believe in God.”  Well that is not quite what God had in mind when He said, “without faith it is impossible to please Him.”  (Hebrews 11:6)  God-pleasing faith not only believes He IS, it believes He acts on our behalf according to this scripture.

In discussing the issue of faith, James seems a bit sarcastic when he says, “You believe in one God, you do well, but will you know that the demons also believe and tremble.”  (James 2:19) Remember that when James wrote this they were not living in the midst of an atheistic society, but a very religious society that believed in multiple gods.  For a person to refine their faith to a single god was serious business.  But James reminds them they believe no more than the demons.  And, at least the demons have the reverence to tremble at that knowledge.  Perhaps they have more “faith” then some of us.  As the Word says elsewhere, “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”

Real faith then, as defined by Abraham’s experience, is believing what God has SAID.  You can believe IN God all day long and never really believe what He has said.  This is the quagmire that many church-goers find themselves in.  They obviously believe in God or they would not be going to church.  However if you ask them if they believe the Bible is the word of God they will say “no!”  How is it possible to “believe God,” if you do not believe He has spoken?”  You can’t!  Faith deals directly with the issue of the integrety of God’s Word and what you believe about it,

This then is the primary attack of satan on faith.  Discredit the Bible in  a person’s mind and there can be no genuine faith.  Without the integrity of the Bible, faith is reduced to adherence to a creed, doctrinal system or ecclesiastical method. When this happens religious rite, activity and discipline is substituted for relationship with the living God and our “faith” is reduced to nothing more than religious self-effort.

Another problem occurs with many of those people that would claim the Bible is, in general, the inspired Word of God.  That is not enough either.  Real faith requires that specifics of God’s Word be acted upon.  Paul, who wrote Romans, and James once again point to Abraham as an example.  Both point put that Abraham OBEYED or acted on what He believed.  He stepped out and based his life and future on God’s Word, even though He didn’t know all the details about how things were going to work out.  The following scriptures show both his attitude of faith and his action of faith.

Romans 4:20-21 says, “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;  And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.”

Heb 11:8 “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.”

The second characteristic of Faith is acting on, or perhaps we should say, obedience to, the spoken word or promise.  When God gives a directive, faith obeys it.  When God gives a promise, faith appropriates it through acting upon it.  In other words, genuine faith requires corresponding action.  The fact of the matter is you WILL act on what you believe.  If I told you there was $10,000 buried in a field you WOULD go look for it if you genuinely believed it was there.   Deep down we act on our beliefs, real or imagined.  Lack of action proves the lie of our confessed faith

Two last considerations concerning faith: The purpose of faith and the result of faith.

The purpose of faith is NOT to just “get something from God.”  God purposed that man would relate to Him based on faith because genuine faith requires relationship.  Many religions in the world have their “religious disciplines” that do not require actual relationship with God or others.  The major difference in genuine Christianity is the relationship factor, both with God and with other believers.

From a faith standpoint, overcoming issues and obtaining the things we need require us to relate to God; to believe Him; to trust Him.  And it is this dependence that brings us into a loving, humble, submissive and worship-filled relationship with Him.  Our faith, acted up on, brings glory to God.  Read again Romans 4:20, “He did not stagger at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God….”  .

And finally there is the result of faith.  One major result (and we could say purpose) of faith is to glorify God. A secondary result of faith is the spiritual strengthening that takes place in our own lives and the third result of faith is the answer that results as a resposne to faith.

The heart of the matter is this: faith does not start with you or me.  It starts with God and His word.  Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 1:20, “For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.” (EVS) 

I encourage you to ask God to increase your faith and be ready to step out into an incredible journey.  God is looking for those who will believe Him, not just believe in Him.

Blessings,

Steve

Tags: Christian Growth, Discipleship, Faith, spirituality

Contrary to popular belief, God does not want you to be religious.  Actually, His desire is for you to be SPIRITUAL!  There is a major difference. 

Religion is man’s attempt to relate to God based on his own ideas and efforts.  It may be a noble goal, but it is entirely futile according to God. Spirituality on the other hand is the result of a man’s connection with God through the Holy Spirit.

Religion (any religion, even that with Christian ideas) starts on the outside with a set of laws, rituals and ceremonies and basically says, “If you do the dos and don’t the don’ts and go through the prescribed rites and rituals, it will all somehow soak into you and change you inwardly.  The problem is, it simply doesn’t work that way.  External things can never produce inward spiritual change.

Spirituality on the other hand starts on the inside.  God says, “let me come on the inside of you and change your heart inwardly by My Spirit and those inward changes will work their way out of you and change the way you act, think and talk.  It will affect your outlook on life and the direction in which you pursue life.

I can illustrate it with a computer.  You can change the tower color, add some hardware, give it a faster internet connection, but if the programming is messed up nothing external will make a difference.  The computer will spit out the same errors; it will just do it faster and be prettier.  This, in effect, is what religion does to people.  It really doesn’t reprogram them to act different; it just makes them look a bit better on the way to hell.

Man is religious by nature.  While many people today would say they don’t “practice religion,” (i.e. go to church) most still have a belief system that includes God.  It has been said that man was created with a “God-shaped hole inside of him.”  There is an emptiness in every person that drives them to find fulfillment.

Some allow God Himself to fill the void and make them complete.  Others try religion.  Some people, either ignorant of God or rejecting Him as a viable answer to their need, try to fill the void with other things. For some it might be relationships or sex; for others it is money, fame or power; still others fall prey to alcohol and drugs.  The options are endless and the end result is continual emptiness.  The excitement that comes with the new relationship, job, car, house, etc soon fades and the old emptiness creeps back to the forefront.  You can’t fit a square peg in a round hole.  Neither can you fill a spiritual void with natural things.

Religion starts with man’s effort to connect with God through externals.  Spirituality starts with God’s desire to redeem man through His Spirit.

The fact that man is basically religious was proven some time ago.  Some anthropologists set out to prove that religion was introduced into society later in man’s existence.  However they proved the exact opposite: Every society they found, no matter how far back they looked, not only had religious elements to it, they were generally centered on their religion as a society.

This explains why Pacific Islanders sacrificed virgins to volcanoes and primitive jungle tribes threw their babies to crocodiles.  Most primitive religions involve blood sacrifice; even it isn’t always human blood.  What does this teach us about man’s inherent religious nature?  Even if a man does not understand God and has a really warped concept of who He is and how He operates, somewhere deep inside of man is a concept that he is not right with God and that a death must occur to appease God.

Without even realizing it, people throughout the ages, spanning cultures and societies witness to the Biblical truth that a sacrificial death is the only thing that can fix the problems between sinful man and a Holy God. They simply are ignorant of God’s plan and set about trying to solve the problem in the best way they know how.  While noble, it is futile.

To this the Bible agrees when it says:

“For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:10 & 23.

“The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  Romans 6:23.

“He (Jesus) became sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.”  II Corinthians 5:21

“In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins”  Colossians 1:14 

I have often illustrated spiritual life with a light bulb.  A light bulb exists for the purpose of giving light.  That is its destiny at its creation.  While you can use a light bulb for a few others things (paint it, put a face on it and some yarn and make a craft out of it) that is not what it was created for,  Likewise your life was created with a divine destiny.  You have an eternal purpose that can only be fulfilled in connection with the creator.

You can have a room full of light bulbs and still have no light.  Why?  Because, even though the light bulb was created for the purpose of giving light, it can not do so on its own.  It must have an external power supply running through it to fulfill its destiny.  Likewise, though you were created for an awesome relationship with God and with great potential and divine destiny, you have no more power to fulfill it without the Spirit of God flowing through you than the light bulb does without electricity.

The Bible tells us, “He that is joined to the Lord is ONE SPIRIT with the Lord.”  God created man in His image and likeness.  God is a triune being. Triune means 3 in 1.  Accordingly He created man as a triune being: body, soul and spirit.  Man is essentially a soul, living in a body and possessing a spirit.  The soulish part of man is the real person.  The soul has two “interfaces.”  Through the physical body the soul interfaces or interacts with the physical world.  Through his spirit man interacts with the spiritual                   realm.  He may connect to God or even with occultic power.

When a person responds to God and believes the truth about Jesus Christ, confessing and repenting of their sins and accepting Jesus as their savior, God connects with that person via His spirit and the human spirit.  All of a sudden (just like the electricity running through a light bulb when the switch is flipped) there is an external power supply available to enable a human to fulfill their divine destiny.

This CONNECTION is called salvation, or being saved, or being born again, or any one of a dozen other terms Christians use to explain the event.  Essentially when the issue of sin is dealt with through Jesus, God pours life into that person by His Holy Spirit.

You see, religion is external, man made and does not require God at all. It is based on what man can do to connect with God externally. Spirituality on the other hand requires God to make it work.

How about you?  Have you successfully asked and answered the question about your sins?  Have you been born again?  Are you spiritual or are you just religious?

Tags: Christian Growth, Discipleship, Salvation, spirituality